


Mashed Potatoes

by blackcoffeeandteardrops



Category: The X-Files
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Post-Revival, holiday fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-25
Updated: 2016-11-25
Packaged: 2018-09-02 00:49:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8644840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackcoffeeandteardrops/pseuds/blackcoffeeandteardrops
Summary: Thanksgiving post s10. Because sometimes Scully deserves to be happy, even if the angst is lurking somewhere in the background a little bit.





	

**Author's Note:**

> To my fellow Americans, a Happy Thanksgiving! I hope today was a good one for you, whether spent with family and friends or even on your own. I started writing this when I got home from family times today, but I can't say for certain where it came from. I just want to see William and Scully in the same place, and I feel like it shouldn't be that hard. Anyway...enjoy! Thanks for reading!

Scully prided herself at being the best at many things--shooting her gun with deadly accuracy, running up dark stairwells in heels, not to mention figuring out a cure to save a large percentage of the world’s population from a deadly contagion--but as she stood in the kitchen, hair pulled up haphazardly and several failed attempts in front of her, she realized creating a recipe from pure memory wasn’t one of them. She shoved a bowl full of rather lumpy potatoes across the counter and sighed, pulling another potato from the bag. “I should’ve just bought a box of the instant,” she murmured, pushing a strand of hair from her face with one hand and reaching for a potato peeler with the other. 

“It smells good in here,” William chimed, walking into the kitchen with Dagoo trailing at his feet. 

“If only it tasted as good. I’ve tried twice now, but with the turkey almost done and the casserole already finished, I’m afraid we’ll have to settle,” she said, setting about peeling the potatoes. “Did you two have a good run?”

“We did,” he replied. He eyed the two bowls of mashed potatoes already sitting on the counter dubiously before dipping his finger into one and tasting it. “It’s good to me.”

“Thank you, but the consistency still isn’t right. The first was too runny, and the second too lumpy. If these work, I suppose we could salvage those for potato pancakes in the morning. But it’s still not right,” Scully replied, shaking her head as she placed the potatoes on to boil. She opened the oven, checking the turkey, only to shoo Dagoo away before quickly shutting it. 

“Right for what? I thought they were just mashed potatoes?” William asked, curious. It wasn’t until he saw a look of sadness cross her face that he realized perhaps he’d overstepped an unknown boundary. While he’d been living with them for months, the adjustment to living with the people he’d never known as his parents hadn’t been without rough spots. “Sorry, I didn’t mean--”

“No, no,” Scully insisted, reaching underneath the sweater she wore for the quarter necklace Maggie had given her. She pressed her thumb against its ridges and sighed. “My mother used to make mashed potatoes every year. Some of the other side dishes would change, depending upon what ingredients were available or how many people would be present, but her mashed potatoes stayed the same,” she said, worrying the surface of the coin as she stared off into the distance. She didn’t come to until she felt something pressing against her waist, not realizing at first that William had crossed the room to pull her into a hug. She pressed her cheek into his hair, thankful that for a moment he couldn’t see her face. As they pulled away, she quickly wiped at her eyes, hoping that her emotions weren’t readily visible. “Thank you for that.”

William shrugged, shoving one hand into his jeans as he leaned against the counter. He opened his mouth a few times to speak, only to close it, unsure of what to say in such a moment. They’d talked some about his maternal grandmother, stories and snippets and things gleaned from photo albums, and he knew enough to know that if she were alive they likely would’ve been spending the holiday with her. “I don’t remember her,” he said, coughing to clear his throat. “You there are wisps of sometimes, the red hair or your singing voice,” he let out a chuckle, letting his eyes drift down to the floor, tracing the pattern slowly. He picked at his lip, thinking how strange it was that there were people from Before, as he’d taken to calling it, who knew and loved him. There were pictures in the albums of Maggie holding him, feeding him, reading to him, doing all of the things grandmothers were supposed to do. He’d had a family in the years between then and now, a family he’d loved, but it didn’t make him any less curious about others he’d been robbed of the chance to know. “I’m sorry you lost her.”

Scully studied him for a moment, finding something in his profile so strikingly familiar. She’d carried him inside of her, taken care of him for nearly a year before giving him up, and loved him every moment ever since, but there were still moments where everything felt so incredibly new and yet old at the same time. If Mulder were awake rather than napping on the couch she was certain he’d say there was a word for it, but she shook her head and shelved those thoughts away for later. She thought about his comment regarding not remembering Maggie and nudged him in the side with her elbow. “You were a baby. Despite whatever circumstances that might have occurred to allow you to recall things from back then, it’s okay that you don’t remember her, let alone anything else from before,” she said, watching the way he tapped a finger against his leg, still staring at the floor rather than at her. “And Will?” she said, drawing in a deep breath, wanting what she said next to sink in. “It’s okay if you’re not okay today. I know that we...haven’t talked about it much, and I didn’t know if you really wanted to, but if you did, that would be okay.”

William shook his head, darting his tongue out to moisten his parched lips. They had talked about his life in Wyoming some, but it was always such a tricky situation. What had happened with his adoptive parents was his own experience, but given the lengths Scully had gone through to keep him safe, he felt a connection with her he wasn’t completely sure he understood. “I miss them. A lot sometimes. But there, I always kinda felt like I stuck out. I was always taller than everybody, faster at answering questions in class than everyone, I looked different than my fam...than they did. I never got sick. I got some dumb award just because I never missed a day of school one year. I mean, who does that?”

Scully smiled, relieved to see him opening up, even if it was only just a little. “You did apparently, but I don’t see anything wrong with it.”

“Yeah, maybe, but I guess even though I had friends, I just always felt...different than everybody. It was okay, but sometimes it was a pain in the ass,” he said, wincing as the word left his mouth. He blushed a little as he looked at her. “Sorry.”

A laugh bubbled from Scully’s lips. “It’s okay. This time,” she said, winking in his direction. “I don’t like that you felt as if you didn’t always fit in, and I feel like I’m partially to blame for that. But Will?” she said, raising an eyebrow and waiting until she was sure she had his attention. “I’m glad we can talk about these things.”

William reached up to massage his neck. “Me too, I guess. I uh, I had an idea. About the mashed potatoes. I mean, you’ll probably think it’s stupid but--”

“No, I won’t,” she replied, her tone coming off more defensive than she might have intended. “What is it?”

“Cream cheese,” he said, gesturing behind them to where the refrigerator stood. “I saw we had some in there, and it just made me think...sometimes, when the potatoes didn’t thicken quite right, cream cheese helped. Plus, I mean, it’s cheese. Technically.”

She could tell he was making an attempt at being light hearted, although whether it was for her benefit or his own, she wasn’t sure. The thought that they’d both gone through losses in the past year had crossed her mind on more than one account, so Thanksgiving was no different, but holidays always had a way of making one feel more sentimental. “I like it. I think she may have tried that a time or two. Will you grab it for me?” she asked, turning to tend to the boiling potatoes and checking the turkey one last time. “Probably another fifteen minutes or so on the bird. Thank you,” she said as William brought her the container of cream cheese. 

He didn’t know if she meant thank you for helping in the kitchen or for opening up, which is something he’d originally been more reluctant to do, but William felt happy about it just the same. “You’re welcome. Do you want me to set out the plates?”

“That would be great,” Scully replied, setting about mashing the potatoes, pausing as she caught sight of Mulder standing in the doorway. “Well, look who finally decided to wake up from his nap. Are you all rested before you end up in another daze, this one due to the food?”

“You could’ve woken me up, Scully, instead of replacing me as your sous chef. Unbelievable,” he said, holding a hand to his chest and pretending to be offended. “I was watching a movie, it’s not like I planned to fall asleep. And I was actually thinking Will and I could head outside after dinner to throw the ball around a bit. You up for it?”

“You sure you are, old man?” William teased, pulling the plates from the cabinet. “You might need to rest a little first.”

Mulder pretended to wind his arm up and toss a ball, laughing as William pretended to dodge it. “You’ll see, Will. I can’t believe you called me old.”

Scully smiled, her eyes welling up as she watched the exchange. She didn’t know if the relief at everyone working together peacefully would ever go away, but as she finished making the final touches on dinner, she was thankful to at least have the opportunity to make things alright again. 

Mulder broke through her thoughts, pressing a hand to the small of her back, leaning in close as he reached above where she stood to pull a glass from the cabinet. “You okay?” he asked, lips ghosting against the shell of her ear.

Scully nodded, turning to watch William set the table. She reached behind her, pulling Mulder’s hand from where it rested on her back until his arm wrapped around her middle. She gave his hand a squeeze before letting it go and craning her neck to give him a kiss. “Yes,” she said, realizing that more than ever before, she meant it. “Everything is fine.”


End file.
